Stopping at the Shoe Tree…

I just read that the old Shoe Tree on Highway 50 in Nevada got cut down by some dirtbags around Christmas time. What does a weird old cottonwood tree full of dirty shoes have to do with hot rods? Well, that tree was the traditional stopping point for us before heading east to Austin, Nevada on the way to Bonneville. For those of you who have cruised old 50, you know indeed that it is the ‘Loneliest Road in America’, but it’s also one of the most original and intact two lane cross country highway from the pre-Interstate days (1926). There is nothing in the world better to help you relax and collect your thoughts like cruising an old car long distance on a warm day, with endless miles to go. The shoe tree was just one of those random places to get out and stretch, check the coolant, and swap stories about what we each saw crossing the road a hundred miles back.